1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to integrated circuits. In one aspect, the present invention relates to a test probe apparatus for integrated circuit devices and methods of use thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fabrication of high performance electronic or electrical devices and circuits, integrated circuit components may be mounted onto a printed circuit or wiring boards by using plated through holes (PTH) via structures formed in the boards to provide power and/or signal conductors through the boards. Such PTH via structures may be formed by drilling or selectively etching holes in the board which are then coated or plated with one or more metal layers (e.g., copper) to form conductive paths and contact areas on the boards, devices and the like. While there are a variety of PTH via structure fabrication techniques that are well known and widely employed, different fabrication techniques that use different processing steps can form different types of PTH via structures which require specialized fabrication steps and/or probe test equipment, thereby adding to the cost and complexity of the manufacturing process and of the resultant products.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved electronic device, method and system for mounting and testing such devices which addresses various problems in the art that have been discovered by the above-named inventor where various limitations and disadvantages of conventional solutions and technologies will become apparent to one of skill in the art after reviewing the remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings and detailed description which follow, though it should be understood that this description of the related art section is not intended to serve as an admission that the described subject matter is prior art.